"I'm hoping this will be kind a turning point for us,'' Walding said. "We just need to keep it up.''

Walding knows she has a special hitter in Self.

"I always know I can get her the ball,'' she said.

So where has this Lake Zurich team been this year? A team that just knocked off a top seed in a sectional.

"We have 8 losses,'' Aiello said. "So we have dealt with adversity. I was really more impressed with our game two win. We really didn't have to work in game one. Stevenson helped us. I'm happy that the girls have continued to trust the system and trust me."

Set two was close the entire way. Stevenson pulled within 20-18, but on back-to-back kills from Walding, the Bears' lead was 22-19. Jenna Radtke (8 kills) had a block kill for the Patriots cutting the lead to 24-22. That set up Self, who put the ball away and end the match.

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